Many freight logistic companies attach tracking devices to airline containers to track their geographic location. This allows the logistic company to determine the geographic location of the container as it moves between the origination and destination point(s), to determine whether the goods inside the container are on time, late, or somehow misplaced. For example, by tracking the movement of the container, the logistic company will quickly know if the container has been misrouted or been placed on the incorrect transport. The advantages of tracking the position of the goods are many and therefore asset tracking has become commonplace throughout the shipping industry.
The tracking devices associated with the container transmit and receive various types of communication signals for determining the geographic position of the tracking device and thus the container. A problem occurs when the tracked container is loaded onto a transportation vessel, such as an aircraft, as the communication signals may potentially cause interference with the vessel systems. Regulatory agencies, such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), place restrictions on communications signals due to their potential interference with flight systems and communications. Therefore it is necessary that the tracking device be deactivated when the cargo container is on board an aircraft.
The experience has been that it is inadequate to rely on a manual switch to deactivate the tracking device when the container is placed on the aircraft. For instance, human operators may merely forget to deactivate the tracking device. Additionally, these containers are normally tightly packed into the transportation vessel cargo hold in such a manner that they are not easily accessible once the container has been placed in the hold, and even less accessible if the hold has been completely loaded. One container with a tracking device still activated that is loaded onto a transportation vessel may require that the entire transportation vessel be unloaded to access and deactivate the tracking device.
Additionally, manual switches are also inconvenient if they have been properly deactivated, for after the container is removed from the transportation vessel at the end of its journey, the tracking device must be reactivated so the container can again be adequately tracked.
In addition to requiring activation and deactivation on a regular basis, aircraft cargo tracking devices need to have long operation or life. Because the devices travel around the world, it may be an extended period of time before the device is at a location that is equipped to service the battery that operates the tracking device.